


Holiday Howler

by BethRedus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, I know it isn´t christmas, Yes Fred´s alive, honestly why did he die
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-03-25 14:12:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3813505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BethRedus/pseuds/BethRedus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It´s the week before Christmas, the Burrow is cozy and warm, when a howler upset the holiday spirit. To understand this emotional outburst, one has to consider the events leading up to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Holiday Howler](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5405132) by [sherlockid25](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockid25/pseuds/sherlockid25)



Holiday Howler  
Chapter 1

It was a beautiful Sunday morning, just a week before christmas. It had snowed overnight and the Burrow glistening in the pale rays of sun. Inside the Burrow, fires were roaring in every fireplace, it was warm and cozy and the delicious smell of Mrs. Weaseleys cooking wafted through the air.  
Said smell had slowly meandered to the upper floors and awakened the half-dozen men and lured them out of bed. One by one, Mr. Weasley, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Harry trotted downstairs, praised the cook and kissed the short witch on the head (even Harry was comfortable with it now) and sat down at the table to vanquish the large amounts of food.  
Harry and Ron had, unlike Hermione, decided to not return for an eight year to Hogwarts, but had begun their training as Aurors. This was their first holiday since they started in September, and they were enjoying it very much. Just as they were discussing going sledding with the twins, there was a sharp knock on the kitchen window. Mrs. Weasley hurried to open it, letting a large owl flutter inside.  
,,Hey, isn´t that Hermiones owl?” Ron asked, his mouth full of eggs.  
,,Yeah, but why would she be writing now? She and Ginny are supposed to be her on Wednesday...”  
Then their eyes fell on the letter.  
A bright red letter.  
Red as fury, red as wrath.  
A howler.

,,Is that...?”  
The owl simply blinked at them with its large eyes, sticking out its foot.  
,,Blimey, she´s never...” Ron whispered. (And Ron should know. Their short and heated relationship had ended rather short-tempered and heated, with a lot of shouting and drawn wands, but they had somehow managed to go back to simply being friends)  
,,Well, open it before it explodes!” Mrs. Weasley ordered.  
Charlie reached out and untied the envelope from the owls leg, whilst Harry and Ron looked at each other and swallowed in fear. Whatever had happened for Hermione to send a howler...they were definitely in trouble.  
The envelope, sensing it was free, unraveled itself.  
The entire kitchen tensed and held its breath.

,,FREDERICK GIDEON AND GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY!”

the letter shrieked in Hermiones voice. The gasp of relief on Harry and Rons side of the table was echoed by the gasp of shock on the twins side.  
,,How does she know our full names? We never...” Fred groaned, but was cut off by the howler.

,,I UNDERSTAND YOUR NEED FOR TRICKS AND PRANKS, I UNDERSTAND YOUR JOY IN TRICKS AND PRANKS, I UNDERSTAND YOUR PRIDE IN YOUR TRICKS AND PRANKS, I EVEN UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR YOUR TRICKS AND PRANKS IN THIS WAR-WEATHERED WORLD, AND ADMIRE THE MAGIC YOU ARE ABLE TO PRODUCE GREATLY.”

,,Oh dear. She is using alliterations. That is a written out rant. You´re doomed.” Ron muttered.

,,HOWEVER...!” the letter boomed ,,I DO NOT ADMIRE OR SEE THE USE OF YOUR MERCHANDISE GOING HAYWIRE IN HOGWARTS!”

Mrs. Weasleys eyes flashed dangerously and snapped to the twins, who cowered in fear.

,,IF THIS WEREN´T THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY AND THE FEST OF LOVE, YOU´D BOTH BE SIX FEET UNDER! CONSIDER YOUR TWO MEASLEY-WEASLEY LIVES MY CHRISTMASGIFT TO YOU THIS YEAR! OTHERWISE THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS WOULD BE REDHAIRED, FRECKLED AND IN A PACK OF TWO!  
HOWEVER PRECICELY SAID HOLIDAY SPIRIT, INFUSED IN YOUR MERCHANDISE POSES THE PROBLEM! PRAY TO ALL YOUR GODS THAT I WON´T BE AMBUSHED BY ONE OF YOUR WANDERING MISTLETOE TRAPS FOR A SIXTH TIME THIS WEEK...”

There was a giggle in the background.

 _,,Oh Genevra shut up this isn´t funny at all and you know it!_ BECAUSE SOMEHOW YOUR BLOODY TRAPS HAVE EVOLVED, AND BELIEVE ME I READ THE MANUAL: FIRST, THEY ARE NOT RANDOM AS ADVERTISED, THEY HAVE COUPLE PREFERENCE AND ALWAYS ENSNARE THE SAME TWO PEOPLE! AND SECOND, WITH EVERY TIME THE KISS HAS TO BECOME MORE INTENSE, OTHERWISE IT WON´T LET YOU GO!”

,,Actually, that feature was intended.” George mumbled.

,,I CAN BARELY SET A FOOT OUTSIDE MY ROOM, WE HAVE HAD TO ESTABLISH EATING SCEDULES SO THE WRONG PEOPLE DON´T RUN INTO EACH OTHER AND REACH SECOND BASE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREAT HALL! _Ginny, stop laughing, it´s true. Yes, I know Seamus is good at drawing and...? What...no, I do not want to see how beautiful our children would be, burn that sketch immediately! Good grief, Ginevra, there is nothing funny about this! If this continues on like this, I´ll be carrying the Malfoy heir by christmas eve!”_ she shrieked in the background.

Harry and Ron went very still, then went for their wands. Fred and George ducked their heads.

,,I WAS HOPING TO KEEP THIS AN UNPERSONAL LETTER, AS HEADGIRL TO WEASLEY WIZARD WHEEZES, HOWEVER...IF I HAVE TO SNOG DRACO BLOODY MALFOY FOR A SIXTH TIME, IF SNOGGING WILL EVEN SUFFICE FOR YOUR DEVILTRAPS, I WILL PERSONALLY ENSURE THAT THE WEASLEY FAMILY LINE WILL NOT CONTINUE THROUGH YOU TWO! I EXPECT PEST CONTROL BY THREE O´CLOCK AT THE LATEST! I KNOW WHAT THE INSIDE OF HIS FRONT TEETH TASTE LIKE, FOR MERLINS SAKE!”  
_,,Really?” ,,Yes, sadly.” ,,And what...” ,,Shut up!”_  
,,I BELIEVE YOU SHOULD CONSIDER  
A) MY HONOR AS HEADGIRL AND WITCH  
B) THE INNOCENCE OF THE YOUNGER STUDENTS  
C) THE HONOR AND INNOCENCE AND THE FUNCTION THE ENTIRE BLOODY SCHOOL! HOGWARTS IS A PLACE OF LEARNING AND THE PERSUIT OF KNOWLEAGE! YOUR ANTICS ARE DISRUPTING THE SCEDULE OF DAILY LIFE! MOANING MYRTLE HAS FLOODED THE ENTIRE SECOND STORY AFTER HAVING TO KISS PEEVES! UNTIL NOW NO ONE HAD TO KISS SNAPE, BUT I HAVE THE FEELING IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME. BUT HOW ON EARTH DID YOU EVEN MANAGE TO EXTEND THE CHARM TO GHOSTS AS WELL? That is something I´d like to discuss with you, when were back at the Burrow. I never heard of a trapping charm for both living and dead. Does it connect to the actual soul, because that´s the only explanation I can come up with after my research. Can you believe it, the entire library,...”

 _,,Hermione, you´re rambling.”_ Ginny called from the background.

,,....MY RESEARCH TO UNDO THIS CHARM, WHICH LEAD ME TO THE LIBRARY AND MY NECK WITH FOUR HICKEYS!”

There was a pause.

,,On a brighter note, at least Luna and Neville are finally together...” Hermione sighed, which, at that volume, sounded absolutely devastating and heartbreaking.

 _,,Timer´s running out, these have a maximum of three minutes. Conclusion please!”_ Ginny shouted in the background.

,,IF THESE THINGS ARE NOT GONE BY SUNDOWN, I SWEAR I WILL PERSONALLY...!”

The message broke off as the letter burst into flames.

,,Err...we might not go sledding today.” George tentatively broke the stunned silence. ,,Come on Fred, we´d better get going.”  
,,The hell you are!” Harry and Ron shouted, wands raised.  
,,SIT!” Mrs. Weasley commanded ,,Now!”  
Harry and Ron sunk back into their chairs, Fred and George hovered undecidedly.  
,,The main focus now is to undo these traps! Fred, George?!?”  
,,Yes, mother?”  
,,How do they work? Is there a lovepotion infused or a charm that bring the people together?”  
,,NO! Love potios or charms would be illegal!” Fred hastily assured. ,,It´s a simple triggered trap charm with a compulsion charm added...”  
,,Compulsion charm? So that is why always the same pairs end up together. How are they chosen? Are they branded after they met the first time by chance, or is there a specific selection process...?”  
George shook his head ,,The trigger for the pair selection is sexual tension. The more has been building up over time, the more powerful the charm becomes. Blimey, considering how long those two have been dancing around each other, well at least for five years, I´m astounded they´ve managed to reign themselves back in five times and didn´t rip off each others clothes...”  
Ron had a coughing fit that turned his face a dark hue of magenta that clashed frightfully with his hair. ,,FIX THIS! NOW!” Harry growled. ,,Go and fix this and let Hermione kill you and then come back so we can kill you again!”  
Mrs. Weasley gave a sharp nod towards the door, the twins saw it as a sign to flee the kitchen before any hexes were thrown.  
They had a mess to fix.


	2. What had happened before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first kiss

What had happened the week before:

This first kiss happened Tuesday during lunch break. Hermione, who still needed to visit the library before the next lesson, had come dashing around a corner, when she ran headfirst into someone, sending them both tumbling to the ground.  
For a moment all she felt was a warm and broad chest, her nose buried in the soft shirt fabric, inhaling a most intoxing and definitely male smell. He heart gave a small ba-bump.  
Then she remembered what situation she was in and quickly raised her head, trying to prop herself up in her arms, looking down at the boy underneath her.  
,,Oh, I´m so s...” she began, trying to see past her hair, that hung around her vision like a curtain.  
Then she recognized who exactly she was lying on top of.  
Ex-Junior Deatheater. Slitherin supreme. Ferret extraordinaire  
Draco Malfoy.  
Their eyes met, silver and gold, widened.  
,,Granger.” he said, too shocked for any insults.  
With a small shriek she scrambled off of him, springing to her feet, to find six or seven Slitherins surrounding her.  
Blaise Zabini. Gregory Goyle. Pansy Parkinson. oh glory.  
,,Honestly, M...woman, watch where you´re going!” she heard him snarl.  
At least his usual snarkiness was back, even if he couln´d call her Mudblood anymore.  
,,I´m sorry, Malfoy.” she hastily said, without properly looking at him and wanted to quickly push past the ogling Slitherins and continue her way, when she ran against an invisible wall.  
The impact sent her staggering back against Malfoy, who had just gotten back to his feet, and sent them crashing into another invisible barrier behind him.  
,,Get off of me!” Draco snarled, pushing her away. ,,Leave!”  
,,I can´t!” she shouted back, her shoulder starting to smart, where it had collided with the barrier. ,,There is some kind of barrier around us!”  
,,What? Don´t be stupid, what...” he put out his hand and pressed. The invisible wall didn´t budge.  
,,Open this now!” he barked at her.  
,,I didn´t do this!”  
,,Well do something!”  
,,Ahem...” someone interrupted, causing the two to whirl around.  
,,For being the top two students, and even holding the title of ,,brightest witch of your age" in addition, you two really are dense.” Blaise Zabini sniggered.  
,,Excuse me?” she snapped. She would NOT have her intelligence insulted by a Slitherin.  
,,Do enlighten us.” Malfoy growled at his friend.  
Chuckling, he simply pointed over their heads.  
Only then did they notice the pale olive green sprig of...  
,,Mistletoe...” Hermione groaned ,,No. Don´t say...”  
Malfoy turned the same shade as the plant.  
,,It seems that the charm works rather simple.” Blaise went on, obviously trying to keep a straight face ,,The mistletoe won´t let you leave until you have kissed the other person trapped with you.”  
,,What? NO!” Malfoy almost shrieked.  
Hermione, in the mean time, had whipped out her wand and started casting every curse and charmbreaking spell she had ever learned. Considering her amount of knowledge and skills she had accumulated over the war in this field, she was rather surprised to find no chink, no loophole, nothing. She would have to break down the contraption by force, bit by bit, so it wouldn´t explode and that would take at least...  
,,Forty-two hours.”  
,,What Granger, have you completely lost your mind now?” Malfoy spat.  
,,It will take a minimum of forty-two hours to break down this charm.”  
,,Don´t say...” he groaned.  
,,I am not spending forty-two hours in this thing, especially with you. Actually I am in a hurry, so can we just get this over with?” Hermione was seriously getting annoyed. Very annoyed. Especially because Blaise Zabini was obviously having a field day.  
,,What!?!?”  
,,Just kiss me so I can get to the library before lunch break ends!” she snarled through her teeth.  
,,Granger, if you think I´m going to kiss you, you are seriously delusional!”

Hermoine gave a deep sigh,

,,Why in this world...”

grabbed him by his green tie, pulling him down, 

,,...would I even consid...mmm”

crashing his lips on hers.

Malfoy froze. The Slitherins gasped. Blaise Zabini was literally rolling on the floor with laughter.  
,,D-Dracos face...P-P-PRICELESS! I...can´t...take...it...Bwahahahahahahahahaha!”  
Pansy Parkinson was more than pissed.  
The kiss wasn´t longer than five seconds, but it apparently was enough for the mistletoe charm. With a small ring of a bell, it disappeared into thin air.  
Hermione shoved him away.  
,,Well, Merry Christmas to me.” she hissed, turned and marched down the corridor, leaving a flabbergasted and slightly blushing Malfoy behind.  
She didn´t look back. Because that last moment, his lips had NOT softened, had NOT molded themselves onto hers. Because that would be seriously delusional.


	3. The second kiss

By dinnertime the entire school knew what had happened. Apparently Hermione wasn´t the only one trapped by the mistletoe charm, however all other pairings faded into meaninglessness when compared to Hermione Granger, brightest witch of her age and war hero kissing with Draco Malfoy, a former Death-eater.  
At first no one dared to believe it, however after two clipped confessions of the involved and a sniggering and all to happy to gossip Blaise Zabini, the facts were hard to ignore. So now the two opposing houses were suspiciously eying each other across the Great Hall, radiating their displeasure of the situation.  
Hermione was silently eating her mashed potatoes, clearly not in the mood to speak to anyone, especially that topic. Ginny had accosted her concerning the rumors on the way to the Great Hall and hadn´t shut up ever since. Hermione felt a major headache on the horizon.  
Quickly she finished her dinner, and excused herself, eager to return to her quiet room.  
However the staircase to the fourth floor had turned just as she was about to reach the base. With a sigh she turned, trying to remember the schedule of the other staircase, when she nearly ran into...  
,,Watch it, Granger!”  
,,Malfoy.” she groaned. Great, exactly who she needed. Why was he even here?  
,,Hey, were you following me?”  
,,Considering you are the person to run into me for the second time today, shouldn´t I be asking that question?” he drawled. Malfoy had his full swagger back, his eyes flashing with dangerous amusement as he stalked closer. His voice was entirely too silky and soft for her liking. He was definitely up to something, and she wasn´t up to his antics.  
,,I´m too tired for you games. What do you wan´t?” she growled.   
His voice turned into a seductive purr. ,,Hmmm...let´s see...” he leaned in, his face coming too close. She jumped back, panic in her eyes. ,,I don´t want that, you flatter yourself.” he sneered at her reaction. ,,However, you on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying yourself quite nicely earlier. You even closed your eyes...”  
,,Well, having your ugly mug up close, you can´t really reprimand me for it.” she snapped back. ,,Anything else that won´t let you sleep tonight? Because I´m leaving.”  
She pushed past him and ran into an invisible wall.  
,,NO! Not again!” she shrieked, whirling around to find the sprig of mistletoe hovering over them again. Malfoy grabbed her by her shoulders, hard. ,,What did you do, Granger?” he snarled.  
,,I didn´t do anything. That thrice be dammed charm...!” she shouted back.  
,,Why is it here then?”  
,,I don´t know!”  
,,Hermione Granger finally admitting she doesn´t know something. Well, it´s someone´s fault...”  
,,My fault, how is this my fault?”  
,,Shouting, shouting, ickle little students shouting.” a gleeful voice sang out over their heads.  
Peeves. Great. How could this get even worse?  
,,Students shouting in the corridors. Shouting, screeching, screaming students.”  
,,Peeves, stop that at once!” she shouted. ,,Or I will report you to the headmistress!”  
,,My, my, my...if it isn´t our head girly.”  
,,Peeves!”  
,,Ickle little head girly is trapped, trapped. Loud, shouting girly is trapped. People will hear, people will come, people will see...” he sang gleefully.  
,,O dear God, no!” The last thing she needed was an audience. She quickly grabbed Malfoy by the collar, hauling him in like before, pressing her mouth onto his.  
Keeping her eyes wide open.   
Warm. Soft. Peppermint? Focus, Hermione! Why isn´t the bell sounding? Eleven Missisippi...twelve Missisippi...  
She pushed him away.  
,,Why isn´t this working?” she snapped at Peeves. ,,Did you do something?”   
,,No, no, Peeves didn´t, Peeves didn´t do anything.” The poltergeist swooped over their heads, around the hovering mistletoe.  
,,Then why is the barrier still there?”  
Peeves cackled at their predicament.   
,,Peeves, you know something! Tell us!” she barked at him.  
,,Too easy.Too easy.” he giggled ,,It wants more. More than that itty-bitty kissy.”  
,,More?” Hermiones voice was shrill with alarm.  
,,More.” Peeves cackled once more, before disappearing with a pop.  
,,What on earth is that supposed to mean? More? It worked perfectly before, I don´t understand...”  
,,Granger, just shut up.”  
And she did.  
Because Draco Malfoys lips sealed her mouth.  
Hermione froze, but he didn´t seem to notice. With his right hand he tilted her face further upwards, pulling her closer. This wasn´t like before, this wasn´t just lips pressing against each other, thinned and unmoving. His lips were warm and soft as they caressed hers, coaxing a response, and tasted of peppermint and oh...  
Just as her eyes fluttered close, she saw his shut eyelids through her lashes.  
All she could do was lean against him and kiss back. His other hand moved to her hair, weaving his fingers into her locks. She sighed against his lips.  
Vaguely she heard the bell ring, vaguely she heard a voice screaming a warning inside her head.  
Something was wrong, but she couldn´t concentrate long enough to pinpoint on what exactly.  
She felt his tongue slide along her bottom lip, tasting, teasing. All she wanted to do was part her lips and...No! THIS IS MALFOY!  
She broke their liplock but stayed close, her lips lightly skimming up the side of his face.  
,,I flatter myself?” she whispered in his ear.  
His silver eyes, half hooded and slightly glazed, snapped back into focus at her words. He grabbed her shoulders hard and shoved her away.  
,,You will speak to no one of this!” he snarled.  
The corners of her pink mouth turned up into a saucy smirk ,,Why should I?” she turned on her heel and flounced up the staircase.

,,Why shouldn´t I?” Peeves giggled to himself.


	4. Period of grace

Wednesday and Thursday passed without incident. Mostly due to the fact that Hermione slunk through the shadows of the corridors like a dementor, diving for cover anytime she saw a head even faintly blonde, eating breakfast at an ungodly hour, skipping lunch and dinner altogether, and holing herself up in the sanctuary of the Griffendor commonroom. This did not go unnoticed by Ginny and her other fellow Griffendors.  
,,Hermione, honestly. You can´t skip two meals out of three. Especially not two days in a row. It isn´t healthy.” she scolded, presenting her friend with a napkin, stuffed with smuggled food.  
,,A Weasleys relationship with food isn´t a average to go with, you know. Sometimes I still wonder why your mother still has hair on her head. One could think the brood would have eaten it as well at some time.” Hermione replied, continuing her essay.  
Neville and Dean laughed. ,,But she right you know...” Neville pushed an egg sandwich across the table. ,,You have to eat something.”  
,,Fine. Whatever.”  
,,Hermione, you can´t possibly have that much homework that you couldn´t have come down for dinner just now.”  
,,I do have a lot of work...”  
,,For head duties? Two days ago you told me you feel sort of guilty because Ernie already did the entire paperwork. Face it Hermione...you´re hiding.”  
,,Hiding? I´m not..”  
,,Godric is turning in his grave to have his chosen princess so devoid of house spirit.” Dean declared dramatically, pretending to swoon.  
,,Wait a minute! Are you saying...”  
,,Hermione, we know you are hiding from Malfoy. If it would have happened to me I would probably be holed up in here too. Neville and Dean would more likely have committed seppuku on our new carpet, spilling their guts in glorious house colors...”  
Neville made a gagging sound. ,,Me...and Malfoy? Gods, I think I´m gonna be sick.”  
,,Don´t be melodramatic!” Ginny snapped.  
,,Says the woman who just described out guts on the persian!” Dean snapped back.  
,,Well, if you kissed Malfoy, Seamus would be out for blood.” Neville nettled.  
,,Merlin have mercy.” Dean groaned. ,,My guts on the persian would be a realistic portrait of what would happen. Blimey, Neville, come on, we´ll be late for the astronomy project! Bye girls!”  
The two witches watched them leave through the portrait hole.  
,,Come on, Hermione. It´s not a big deal. There have been quite a few pairings the last two days, you´re not the only one who got trapped by the mistletoe. There is no need to be ashamed and hide, face Malfoy head on. He´s probably just as embarrassed.”  
,,It´s not...”  
,,It´s not what?”  
,,I´m not embarrassed. Well, maybe a little bit, but I mean, I kissed him, but it´s not that I regret making the move first, it could have gotten a lot more awkward, it´s just...”  
,,Yeees?”  
,,I´m just a bit anxious that it will happen again...”  
,,Again? Oh, don´t worry Hermione. The charm hasn´t ever caught the same two people a second time, I highly doubt there is a risk. Why would it happen again?”  
Hermione gave a great sigh. Ginny raised her eyebrows at her.  
,,Because it already did.” she mumbled.  
,,Huh?”  
,,It already happened again.”  
,,WHAT?!?” Ginny screeched, making heads turn in the entire common room.  
Hermione quickly threw up a silencing charm, and added a repelling charm for good measure and extendable ears.  
,,Ginny, not so...”  
,,Are you tying to tell me you kissed the ferret AGAIN?!?”  
,,It was the bloody mistletoe!” Hermione snapped.  
,,Why have I not heard of this sooner?! When did it happen?”  
,,Wednesday. After dinner.”  
,,Bloody hell!”  
,,You just sounded exactly like Ron.”  
,,Be glad he´s not here, he would have...”  
,,Blown. Like a bomb.” Hermione sighed. ,,And Harry would have probably ended up in detention again."  
,,Thank goodness the boys aren´t here.”  
,,But do you see now why I´m hiding here? I´m trying everything to take that thing down, I´ve been researching about this charm, but havn´t found a clue as to how it works. Even ,,Magical contraptions and hunting pits for dangerous magical beasts” didn´t provide an answer. Somehow it seems it´s a combination of really old magic and a new spell. When I tried breaking it, it had no chink in the charm. It´s almost impossible to break it down by force. I have no idea what to do. I even asked a house-elf to try to somehow catch the mistletoe, but Blinky hasn´t reported ever since I asked her yesterday and...”  
,,Calm down, Hermione. I´m sure you´ll find a solution. You always do.”  
,,But I have no lead on this at all! And if we get in a certain radius of each other, we´ll be trapped by the mistletoe again!”  
,,Well, skipping meals isn´t going to help either. You just try to avoid him at all costs. I mean it worked until now...and if he get´s too close, punch him again. Maybe the mistletoe accepts kisses with a fist too...” she mused.


	5. The third kiss

The next day however, the period of grace ended with double potions with the Slitherins. It being the last lesson before the holidays started, Snape had decided to have them brew up an especially difficult and devastatingly fuming potion, which would count as 50% of their grade. The spirit of christmas decided to take another day off. Even the Slitherings were muttering obscenities about the dungeon bat under their breath. Hermione tried to stay calm and collected, whilst her classmates around her went into panic mode and the room started to turn hazy with lilac smoke. She had set up her cauldron far a way from a certain Slitherin, quickly but thoroughly read the instructions and set to work, chopping, dicing, slicing and weighing the ingredients, stirring and checking the temperature with her wand every two minutes. She almost knew this potion by heart and actually had read some literature in addition, so she knew that adding amarillo fern spores would make the potion even more potent, even though it wasn´t stated in their textbook. She left her wand stirring the potion and wandered through the fog, the fire under the cauldrons and a few misty figures her guidance to find the seed, pollen and spores supply cupboard. She stumbled into someone she assumed was Neville, nearly knocked over a herb drying wrack and found the right cupboard door only after the third try. The entire dungeon was obscured by purple smoke, thick as pea soup. She wished she hadn´t left her wand at her seat. She could have really used a foglight as she held the individual boxes almost to her nose trying to decipher the tags.  
,,Amabilius niger, amabo...do...li...oh my amaranthiya...ama....there!” she said triumphantly, reaching out, when another hand shot out of the fog, grabbing her hand and the box.  
,,Hey!” she turned around to find herself trapped between the shelves in her back and a well built body dressed in slitherin-green.  
,,Malfoy, what are you doing!?!” she hissed, recoiling in shock of suddenly having him so close.  
,,Getting those fern spores. You´re not the only only who has done a bit of background reading.”  
he drawled, silver eyes flashing.  
,,That´s not the point!” she snarled ,,If you and I get too close, that bloody thing will reappear again!”  
,,So?”  
,,Snape finding his two best pupils snogging behind the open door of a supply cupboard, that is something Hogwarts has yet to experience and I refused to be part of!” she snapped, trying to push him a way. ,,Now let me get back to my cauldron!”  
Pop. They both looked up to see the dreaded sprig of mistletoe  
,,No. No. It´s back! Malfoy I told you this would happen! What the hell were you thinking?”  
He just smirked down at her and pushed her up against the cupboard.  
,,You know this will be the last time this happens...” she hissed, trying to ignore the fire that raced trough her veins then his warm body pressed against her.  
,,Granger, what a cliché line.” he purred in her ear.  
,,This has to do with the trap! You know the rule: three time´s the charm. This is the last time it will work on the two of us.” she snapped back.  
,,Well, then we should make the best of it, yes?”  
,,You are a complete arse.” he hissed, grabbing him by his collar and pulling him down to get this over with...yes, to get it over with.  
Malfoy immeadiately responded, wrapping his arm around her waist, the other tangling in her hair, pressing her closer as he attacked her lips with his.  
She melted in his embrace, letting him part her lips as he nips at them with his teeth and runs over them with the tip of his tongue. She only pulls him closer, when his tongue slips into her mouth, digging her nails in his shoulder and hip.  
She forgets that they are in the middle of class, that her potion is stewing, that there are other people in the room, hell that Snape is in the room, and the only thing from everyone knowing she is snogging the living daylights out of Draco bloody Malfoy is the purple fog obscuring the room.  
She tried to formulate a choherent thought about the situation, but all she feels are her veins filled with fire and her heart racing and their gasps against each others lips as they clash with lips and teeth and tongues. She feels giddy, like she had too much firewhiskey or an abundace of cheering charms or breathed too deeply over a steaming cauldren and...ohhh!

Concentrate Hermione! The fumes. The purple fog. It´s the fumes that are addling your perfectly logical brain. It´s not Malfoy. Nothing wrong with you. The fumes. Stay in control. Control.

Ding! went the bell.

She broke away and smirked up at him.  
,,Honestly Malfoy. One could think you´ve been wanting to kiss me.” Malfoys narrowed his eyes dangerously, but she continued to taunt him ,,First you sneak up on me after dinner and now this. You´re even willing to face Snapes wrath just to...” he shut her up by crushing his lips against hers, tugging at her bottom lip with his teeth.  
BOOM!!!!!  
The force of the explosion knocked them back, teeth slicing over lips, and they tumbled to the floor. A bright orange mushroom cloud billowed upwards.  
Screams filled the purple mist.  
,,Bloody hell!” a male voice shouted.  
,,Seamus.” Hermione sighed, getting up and brushing orange glitter and dust off her robes.  
The explosion had actually been so strong it had cleared away parts of the purple smoke. Instead small orange crystals were floating to the floor, like snow.  
Snape appeared next to the melted cauldron, soundless like a ghost. He curled his lips. ,,Not again Mr. Finnigan. Twenty points from Griffendor. Miss Granger, care to explain why you haven´t been at your designated cauldron for the past eleven minutes?”  
Oh gods, he noticed.  
,,I´m sorry, Sir. I accidentally upset a box of seeds and she assisted me in picking them up.” she heard Malfoy defend her. Seamus looked more shocked than when his cauldron exploded into his face.  
,,Is that so.” Snape sneered. ,,And why did the brightest witch of her age not simply wave her wand to collect them? Mr. Malfoy, I pray that at least you didn´t forget you are a wizard...”  
Malfoy looked floundered.  
,,But sir, you told us especially last lesson that ameranthiya seeds are very delicate and sensetiv towards magic and should only ever be handled manually, because they could turn overly potent when exposed to wandmagic.” Hermione coolly stated, meeting the potion-masters gaze evenly, holding out a box. ,,So we had to pick them up by hand.”  
Snape narrowed his eyes suspiciously, his expression turning even more sour, but took the box from her hand and motioned them with a sharp jerk of his head to return to their seats. Without looking back at Malfoy Hermione scurried back, adding the amarillo fern spores just in time. The potion turned brilliant turquoise.  
,,Time is up. Fill a vial with you potion and bring it up front. This instant, Miss Brown. No exceptions.”  
Hermione filled a vial and marched up to Snapes desk.  
,,Finnigan, again not able to provide a potion. Longbottom, what are these lumps? Miss Brown, your vial now, or I shall not grade it! Miss Granger, why is this turquoise? What does the description on the board read?”  
,,Aquamarine sir, but according to the works of Ignatus Nightingale...”  
,,No but´s. Apparently you were not able to follow the simplest instructions, Miss Granger.”  
,,But sir...!”  
,,Five points from Griffendor for talking back to a teacher. Dismissed. Mr. Malfoy, finally someone who...” Snapes gaze fell on Malfoys vial. It was even an even darker turquoise than Hermiones. Of all the potions of the entire class, hers was the closest one to the description Snape had given them. She raised her chin defiantly. Snape scowled.  
,,Very well. Go clean up your workspaces.” he finally growled ,,Mr. Malfoy, I´d like a word with you after class.”

,,Hermione?” Ginny asked at lunch ,,Why is your lip bleeding?”


	6. Fourth kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quiddtich quarrel

Draco Malfoy was pissed. His godfather had held him back after potions class and had lectured him about the rumors flying around at Hogwarts and a certain discussion he had had with Peeves. Dam that poltergeist!  
Some twat from the school board had decided to arrange the Slitherin vs. Griffendor game Friday afternoon, just before christmas break. He loved Quidditch, but playing during a blizzard was not his idea of fun.  
And then there was Granger. Granger being...well Granger. Annoying, bossy know-it-all with an unruly mass of curls, perfect for burying his finger in and...wait what? Salazar, he seriously needed help. Professional help. Not Blaise wiggling his eyebrows and sniggering at him, when that annoying creature was in sight, amber eyes flashing as she discussed some noble and moral topic, her mouth never closing before she won the argument, her lips all pouty and perfectly snoggable...Merlin. This was getting out of hand. Maybe this Quidditch game wasn´t so bad. Maybe a bludger over the head would set his brain right again. Or simply put him out of his misery.  
Because of Snape he was late for lunch, barely being able to properly eat before Blaise dragged him off by the scruff of his neck to get changed for the game. Blaise usually ran a tight ship, but today he was especially nervous and the pep talk was more winding and melodramatic than ever. The team shuffled out of the changing rooms into the hallways leading to the launch pad, not wanting to have to face the cold just yet. The Griffendors were already huddling near the door, murmuring amongst themselves, when a wild-curled witch streaked past him and his team.  
,,Hey, what´s the Quidditch heathen doing here?” he heard someone from the red team laugh.  
,,Ginny forgot her quidditch gloves.” he heard her giggle.  
What was she doing here?!?!?  
He turned away, licked his winter-parched lips, a mistake as it turned out, he could still taste her. The bushy haired, golden eyed, glorious creature he had snogged barely an hour and a half ago.  
Stop thinking about her! He mentally screamed at himself. Get you head in the game! FOCUS!  
He closed his eyes in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose.  
The Griffendor team started some childish warm up game called jellyfish.  
,,Hands up!” The Weaslette shouted at her team.  
,,Hands up!” The answering cry came.  
,,Hermione, you too! Hands up!”  
,,Ginny, nooo. Please.”  
,,Hermione, unleash thy lion spirit!”  
,,But..”  
,,No buts!”  
,,Fine. Hands up!”  
,,Wrists together!” The red-haired team captain shouted  
Wrists together! Jellyfish, Jellyfish, Jellyfish!” the team shouted back, hopping once around in a circle. Malfoy couldn´t see them wriggling around as his eyes were closed but he heard their laughter, her laughter, and the shifting of bodies as they played their game, demanding more and more space in the hallway as the challenges got harder and harder, with each round of Jellyfish!Jellyfish! Jellyfish!  
He heard Blaise snicker at their antics, the next thing he knew someone pushed against him and there were loud surprised squeals as one player toppled over, taking several others down with him, falling to the floor. His eyes snapped open. The Slitherin team burst our laughing, joining the Griffendors in their giggles as they tried to get up again.  
The person, who had bumped into him, had fallen by his feet had somehow managed to entangle themselves into their shawl.  
Malfoy surprised himself by grabbing their arm, pulling them upward.  
Oh, what he would have given a moment later to have never done so.  
The red Griffendor shawl fell away, curls spilled out of the persons coat collar.  
Granger. Hermione.  
She stared wide eyed at him, instinctually leaning in on his pull.  
That was the moment when, with a small pop, the silver-green, satan-spawned sprig of shrubbery decided to make its appearance. The hallway fell silent.  
He stared at it, then down at Granger, who looked like she was ready to spontaneously combust, eyes even wider in shock, he could see the golden flecks in her eyes.  
,,Not a-fucking-gain!” she shrieked, her voice echoing against the walls.  
,,Now, now is that that sort of language of a lady?” Blaise chuckled.  
,,Can it, Zabini!” Malfoy spat. Great. Now what?  
,,This can´t be happening, it´s not possible!”  
,,Apparently it is.” he said curtly.  
,,But I told you...”  
He gave her arm a warning squeeze.  
Three´s the charm? Yeah right. This bloody contraption even defied the laws of magic.  
Blaise sniggered ,,Come on Granger, you kissed him once, might do it a second time!”  
She opened her mouth, only to close it again. They both looked away, didn´t dare make eye contact.  
The Weaslette made a choking sound that very much sounded like suppressed laughter.  
Oh, if they only knew...  
He could see how the gears in her head were turning at a frightful speed, her overly clever brain trying to figure out this mystery, her hair, poofing up, crackling with magical energy.  
,,Granger don´t” he sighed, running his fingers through his own hair in frustration.  
,,Don´t what!?” she snapped back.  
,,Think. I can hear you from here.”  
,,What do you mean? Are you using legim..”  
,,Merlin no! That´s not what I meant. I meant, you´re thinking too much.”  
,,Excuse me! Someone has to do it around here! Don´t tell me you are not in the slightest baffled or intrigued by the fact that this contraption doesn´t follow the third law of...”  
,,Alright you two, kissy-kissy, I need my seeker back!” Blaise intervened.  
Malfoy wanted to smack him. Hard. With an avada.  
,,You know Mione....you could do us a favor and keep him in there all day.” the Weaselette suddenly smirked ,,Hey Malfoy, who´s your bench player?”  
Malfoys head shot up. The Slitherin team looked uncertain and began murmuring amongst themselves.  
,,Now, now, play nice little Red.” Blaise appeased, frowning down at the opposing captain.  
,,Ha. Those words from a Slitherin? Salazaar is turning in his grave. As if you´d play nice if you had trapped one of our players...”  
Malfoys eyes narrowed into slits.  
,,Ohhh. I think I like this idea...” Granger cooed, a sly grin slowly stretching across her face.  
,,Granger, if you really want to be loathed by an entire house...you´re on the right path.” Malfoy snarled. Blaise stepped in before he could start a fight.  
,,Come on. You´re being an example of very bad sportsmanship, Granger.”  
,,That woun´t work with me, Zabini. I not called the Quiddich heathen for nothing.”  
,,Granger!”  
,,What? I´m not doing anything. This charm is beyond my control, I can´t be held responsible for any occurring mishaps.” she made wide sad puppy eyes. ,,I´m sure any neutral authority, such as a teacher, would rule the same.”  
,,Granger, you wouldn´t be so heartless!”Blaise appealed to her.  
Malfoy rolled his eyes ,,Griffendors and their bleeding hearts.” he grumbled under his breath, but Granger had heard him.  
,,You are talking to the person who left a Hogwarts headmistress in the forbidden forest at the mercy of a giant and a heard of centaurs.” she blew at her fingernails, then sweetly smiled up at the blond.  
,,Who would have thought the little Griffendor princess could be so...slitherin?”  
,,Flattery won´t do the trick either.”  
,,Zabini, looks like your charms do fail sometimes!” Amundsen, their chaser laughed.  
Malfoy finally snapped.  
,,I´ve had enough!” he snarled, shoving her against the wall and pinning her arms over her head by her wrists. ,,Apparently you decided to play this dirty. Well don´t start what you can´t finish!”  
He crushed his mouth to hers, pinning her body with his as she began to struggle agains his grip.  
He ignored the shouts of protest from the Griffendor team, proceeding to ravish her lips. But the mistletoe charm still hovered above their heads.  
With a growl of frustration, he broke the kiss.  
Hermione, hands still pinned to the wall, threw back her head, laughing evilly, making her breast bounce, no don´t think about her breasts....  
,,Malfoy, you can do whatever you want, but you ain´t going anywhere unless I kiss you back.” she drawled, obviously amused at his desperation.  
GOOOONG  
,,And there goes the bell. You´d better hurry, Ginny. Good luck!”  
Malfoy let go of her wrists and pulled his finger through his hair.  
,,Blaise, go. I´ll sort this out.”  
,,Draco if you´re not out there in three minutes, Werner is playing seeker, or we forfeit by default, you know that!”  
,,Of course! Now get going! The seeker can come last minute, but the captain can´t!”  
,,Hermione, I´m not leaving you here, trapped by that charm at Malfoys mercy.” The Weaslette interrupted, glaring at the blond.  
,,Never mind me, Ginny, he´s at my mercy.” Granger eyes sparkled mischievously. ,,Go win that game. Unleash thy inner lion and hear me roar and all that.” she waved cheerfully at her housemates.  
,,Are you sure, Mione.”  
,,Just go. But if you call me that horrible name one more time, I´ll let Malfoy on the loose!” she shot back.  
The Weaselette laughed. ,,Alright, I leave this in your capable hands. Griffendor, move out.”  
Blaise groaned, but nodded at his seeker. ,,Fine, whatever, but if you don´t catch the snitch I will personally skin you alive.”  
Both teams shuffled out, leaving the trapped pair behind.  
Malfoy ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, turning back to the lioness.  
Her lips were brilliant pink from the rough kiss before, her eyes sparkled in amusement, her hair looked like she´d been shagged. She would look absolutely glorious like that in a quidditch jersey. Preferable green, embroidered with his name. And nothing else.  
Fuck.  
,,Granger...” he growled.  
,,Malfoy?” She smiled sweetly at him. He stalked towards her, she let herself be backed against the wall. ,,Look here you evil little quidditch heathen...” he snarled before shoving her hips against and up the wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist in response as he attacked, there was no other word for it, her lips again. All their kissing before was sweet and loving compared to this. His tongue invaded without any warning at all, she fought a losing battle as he plundered her mouth. Lips aggressive, hard, demanding more and more, teeth clicking against hers, dragging over the cut in her bottom lip he had accidentally given her when the cauldron exploded earlier. Their heavy breathing visible in the cold, gasps filled the air with little clouds, only to be swallowed be the others mouth. She whimpered when he drove her harder against the wall, roughly shoving his hand into her curls, painfully forcing her closer. She bit his lip, drawing blood, he pinched her bottom in retaliation and sharply pulled her hair to angle her face to attack her lips once more. And she just attacked him back. A warmth, sharp in contrast to the cold surrounding them started to build in their bodies, a smoldering fire about erupt into flames to any moment.  
Forgotten was the Quidditch game, the team members waiting. He and Granger were like oil and water, never able to yield to the other. They had a chemistry like two ingredients of one of Finnigans potions, dangerously explosive. Where they met, they clashed.  
Granger was the only one to make him so enraged or exasperated, so eager to verbally duel with her, just to to hear her voice, and eager to shut her up. She made his blood run hotter, his temper higher and his heart beat faster. No one could get a rise out of him like her, make him loose his cool, make him avert his eyes from her fiery gaze and stumble over his own words. No one else had her intelligence, her quick wit, her sharp tongue to compete with. They were each others only competition. Everyone else didn´t count, everyone else wasn´t worth the time, except her.  
The fire slowly lost it´s fury, but not its heat. Teeth stopped scraping across tender lips, as they now moved in sync, grips became tighter, but the fingers stopped digging, bruising skin.  
A moan escaped her lips, her legs pulled him even closer, heat pressing on heat, he groaned into her mouth as she shifted, rubbing against him.  
Merlin this was going in a very dangerous direction. Control was rapidly slipping as she arched into him, making him push even harder against her. His fingers began to roam over her heavy winter robes.  
The bell suddenly rang, he wrenched himself off her, leaving her sagging against the wall, gasping for breath.  
,,We so are not done here.” he huskily growled, eyes flashing. He threw his broom over his shoulder and stalked out. Seconds later she heard the roar of the crowd as he flew into the stadium, just in time before the final bell rang.

,,Ginny, you´d better beat him something fierce. You´d better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The jellyfish game i described indeed exists. And yes, it really is as silly as it sounds.


	7. Library Liberations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fifth Kiss

The Griffendor common room was mayhem. Red and gold streamers and banners crisscrossed the room, a wizard radio was warbling the weird sisters and someone had managed to smuggle in not only several cases of butterbeer but also an entire bowl of punch, which seemed to mainly consist of fire whiskey and not much more. The sofas and armchairs were all occupied with more and more tipsy people. Regularly a WWW firecracker went off making the first years shriek, the fourth years laugh and the six through eighth subconsciously reach for their wands. Several delegations of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws arrived, bringing more noise, laughter and alcohol.  
Griffendor had won the game.  
240 to 220 points.  
The Griffendor team had played exceptionally well. The chasers and the keeper had build a beautiful rhythm, constantly scoring. The beaters had managed to knock a slitherin completely off his broom. Griffendor had rightfully won, fair and square, and it was a rightful reason why half of Griffendor was drunk in celebration.  
Ginny had seemed a bit frazzled on the field. She had let herself be led on by the Slitherin seeker feigns several times, nearly crashing once, something she chastised herself for the next few hours and the reason why she kept going for refills of the horrible punch.  
The Slytherin team had seemed rather nervous and distracted. Zabini kept barking more and more orders, but the chasers had completely lost their rhythm after Amundsen was knocked off and had to be replaced.  
Malfoy had played superb. He had flown with beautiful precision and breathtaking speed, making all his movements looks effortless. A green flash through the constantly thickening snowfall.

Malfoy caught the snitch.

And that was the main reason Hermione was drinking.

Not because she let him kiss her, thus letting him free to participate in the game. No, despite what she had told Zabini she believed in fair competition.  
Not because she seemed to have caused Ginny quite a bit of stress.  
But because the bloody wanker had deliberately played like that because of her. When he finally caught the snitch, he had deliberately turned to the Griffendor stands, seeking her out in the crowd, grinning like a cheshire cat. He had flown like that for her, he had caught that bloody snitch for her. To spite her. To show her...show her what exactly? That he wasn´t affected by her as she was by him? That she couldn´t throw him off his game? That he could always catch up with and snatch her like the little golden ball, no matter how long she flitted away? Waitwhatwas she thinking?

The celebratory crowd suddenly roared, making her snap out of her Malfoy induced internal battle.  
Neville and Luna (who had joined the festivities earlier, telling Ginny she had a Nargle infestation and Hermione that she had been recently sharing auras) who had been quietly sitting next to each other on one of the sofas, were trapped...by a certain Mistletoe trap. Neville blushed furiously, and began apologizing to Luna, who simply smiled and tugged him closer by his tie to give him a sweet and gentle kiss.  
Such a sweet gentle kiss. Hermione thought as she watched. So different from her and...urgh. Don´t think about it. Don´t think about him or his lips and how he pushed against you and...Heat rose in her, singeing her ribs and racing though her veins. Her traitorous heart stuttered before taking off at a frightful speed. Dontthinkaboutit, dontthinkaboutit...  
Wolf whistles tore through the room, making Hermiones ears ring painfully.  
This was too much.  
Too many people.  
Too many unwelcome reminders.  
And too much alcohol.  
She stood from her armchair, swaying for a moment.  
,,Where are you going, Hermione? Please don´t go, no one thinks bad of you because you kissed him and let him go. it´not your fault.” Ginny pouted, then hiccuped. ,,It was me and my lousy...”  
,,I´m fine. And no, it wasn´t your fault either Ginny, I just need a breather.”  
She quickly weaved through the crowd and stumbled out the portrait hole. Blessed silence and coolness awaited her. She clung to the wall for a moment, ignoring the comments and tittering remarks from the portraits around her.  
This can´t go on like this. She couln´t be reduced to a overheated mess every time she thought of him. She couldn´t let herself be caught even one more time by that bloody mistletoe. She needed to take that thing down as soon as possible. She could never face Ginny or the boys if this were to happen again. He just dissolves any resolve about holding back, he just coaxed the response he wants out of her and she couldn´t resist. The boy has been annoying at the least ever since day one, he got her blood boiling like no other...and not just on one way. This mistletoe business was simply an extreme of the game they had been playing for years, consisting of banter, bloodslurs, insults and a punch in the face. Like always, they were trying to see who would crack first, give in, get hurt first. And she was a hairs width from breaking down. She just couldn´t risk running into him, even once. The mistletoe needs to disappear.  
Quickly she straightened out. She needed information. She needed to see the library. A part of her brain provided the information that going to the library in the middle of the night, past curfew, whilst more than tipsy would probably cost her her head girl badge if she were to get caught, but the rest quickly overrode it, concerned with and concentrated on the task at hand.  
She quietly stole her way to the fourth floor, unlocking the doors with a quick alohomora and slipped inside. The musky smell of old parchment welcomed her to her sanctuary.  
She sank down into one of the armchairs and began to analyze her situation.  
The mistletoe needed to disappear. Very, very soon. Binky hadn´t reported anything either. Trying to break the actual trap charm was no use. It was airtight. However if she could find out how the mistletoe picked the pairs she might have a way to evade getting trapped in the near future. She thought about it. Did it pick random pairs and stamp them? Not likely. The mistletoe always picked very nice matches, except for her and Malfoy of course. But why did they keep running into each other? No matter how hard they tried to stay away from the other, the always somehow found each other. It had happened more than once over the course of the last two days, her almost stumbling over him in the Astronomy tower, him sitting in a dusty alcove on the second floor she wanted to use. She had always turned on the spot when she recognized him, dashing away, preventing further catastrophes and mistletoe induced kisses, finally holing herself up in the common room. They were constantly on the verge of literally running into each other, almost if they knew where the other person was, as if they were forced or steered...  
,,That´s it!” she gasped, jumping from the chair.  
,,Compulsion, compulsion charm, compulsion magic...” she whispered to the shelves. A slight wind rushed trough the entire library, whispering against old leather and parchment, carrying her request onwards.  
Several books came floating down from their shelves. She gathered them into her arm, frowning at the topmost book, 101 tips for the tipsy wizard, a book the library had apparently selected on its own for her to read. She put it aside after she sat down and had applied a charm to speed up sobering, then lit a lantern and began leafing through the books.The results however were poor.  
,,No...siren song no, whisp whisper no, Lorelei lullaby no...this compulsion isn´t acoustic. It isn´t visual either.” she murmured aloud. ,,I don´t think it´s a hunting lure. It has to be something that chooses two people, that ruins them for any other person, except the the rightful partner, draws them in like tugging on their soul...” her eyes widened when she finally understood the words that were echoing against the stone walls and rafters, words that were hers. ,,What am I saying?” she whispered aghast. ,,That almost sounded as if I and him were in lov...” her breath caught.  
She blinked several times.  
,,Hermione Jean Granger, you finally lost it.”  
She let her head fall on the table with a rather loud thunk.  
The blood rushed in her ears, much to loud for the serene silence surrounding her. She stayed like this for several minutes  
Finally she raised her head again and tried to calm her breathing. She felt more and more nauseous.  
Pull yourself together! You need to solve this mystery, now more than ever.  
She looked down at her book.  
Veela mating pheromones, that sounded promising. At least more that the chapters before. She began reading once again.

_Despite their reputation of overly sexual creature, veela only have one partner in their entire life, their mate. This mate is their soulmate. They will accept no other and if he or she should die, the grief usually claims their lives too. Veelas find their mates by sending out pheromones. These pheromones are subconsciously registered by wizard folk, making them perceive a veela especially attractive, however only the soulmate can actively absorb their full potential. The pheromones stimulate mostly sexual parts of the brain, a soulmate however will experience not only the reception of sexual and emotional stimuli, but the entire brain will be affected. It has been described as “like having on all the light in the house suddenly switched on”. This moment is called the glowing of the soul. When the soulmate finally has come in contact with the pheromones, they can follow them to their origin. Pheromones are known to spread thousands of kilometers, in extreme even across oceans._  
_Not only veela have soulmates, but every human being as well, magical or not. However, unlike veela,wizards have yet to discover a way to locate and identify their soulmate. There are no charms, potions or other spells to do so yet. Soul seers have the potential to verify a match of soulmates, however cannot locate them over great distances..._

,,...soul seer. Right, more divination. Why do people believe in that fraud?” she seethed.

_There are several different theories about how soulmates came to be. Some say their atoms were nearest when the world was created. Some say they were once one being but envious gods split them apart into to bodies, sending them off to a never ending search for their other half. Some say the color of their auras match perfectly._

,,Auras? Honestly?”

_Nevertheless, soulmates are mirrors of each other, very similar, but not the same. They are the perfect partner, the other half, the one to bring peace and utter harmony. Soulmates will try to find each other in every incarnation, despite age, gender or social differences that might occur in the current incarnation and..._

,,Yeah right. Thats what the two of us are are. Incarnation of peace and harmony.” she snorted out loud. ,,Next.”  
She began reading the chapter ,,Hunting techniques of the thrakian prowler”.  
Without noticing she herself was the prey.  
On the list of “Things not to do for your own safety and heath”, sneaking up on war veterans with constant vigilance and battle reflexes was very likely to be a single digit.  
Apparently a certain someone hadn´t gotten a copy.  
There was a crash, two bodies collided and fell. A small shriek: ,,Figeo!” rang though the room.  
That was the reason why Draco Malfoy found himself sprawled on the floor, his clothes stapled to the wood like Gulliver, and her sitting on his chest holding a wand at his throat.  
,,A word, a sound and you die.” she hissed, a feral gleam in her eyes. She patted him down for his wand, pulling it out of his robe pocket, tucking it into her own.  
,,Now...,” she hissed again, ,,State your full name and...oh, gods it´s you.” she scrambled off him and onto her feet, undoing the charm that nailed him to the floor.  
,,Woah, there Granger.” he rasped, gasping for air. ,,Lovely to see you too.” She rolled her eyes, but grabbed his arm pulling him upwards into a standing position.  
,,What are you doing here?!?” she demanded, propping up the chair which had crashed to the floor when she had launched herself on him.  
,,I could ask the same, you know.”  
,,I´m doing research, what are you doing here? Besides scaring the living daylights out of me.”  
,,Research? In the middle of the night?”  
,,Yes.” she waved at the books strewn across the table.  
He narrowed his eyes at her. ,, Granger, are you drunk?”  
,,No.”  
He held up the book the library had smuggled into her assortment of literature and raised a single eyebrow.  
,,I am not drunk, I am currently in the state of sobering up.”  
There was a small pop.  
They could just make out the silhouette of the mistletoe sprig.  
,,On the other hand, continuing drinking suddenly becomes much more alluring.”  
,,Granger, you have publicly humiliated and scorned me and overall driven me up the wall enough for today, so just shut up!”  
,,Somehow I distinctly remember myself up against the wall not...”  
He grabbed her by the waist and shoulder, crushing her against him. His hand moved to her curls, digging into them. ,,I told you were not done.” he growled then crashed his lips to hers.  
And the fire inside her that had been smoldering ever since the quidditch match roared back to life, racing through her veins, scorching her entire body.  
She considered struggling for a moment, a last protest, but who was she kidding? She wanted this.  
She leaned against him and parted her lips, letting him in. He pulled her even closer when she knotted her right hand into his shirt and began to gently stroke the hair on the nape of his neck.  
They kissed and licked and nipped at the others lips, tongues sweeping and prodding, her teeth gently bit down on his puffy bottom lip. They pressed closer, kissed deeper until they were practically devouring each other. Gasping for air, they finally broke apart, leaning their foreheads against each other, trying to catch their breath.  
,,The last time, huh?” he smirked down at her.  
,,Stop talking Malfoy!”  
,,And despite everything, here we are again.”  
She rolled her eyes. ,,Oh, fuck you!”  
,,You offering?”  
,,Seriously, stop talking!”  
,,As the lady commands.” he dived for her mouth again, grabbing her hips and lifted her, backing her against the table, setting her down between her books. She parted her knees and he settled between them, continuing to ravish her mouth. His kisses left her lips and wandered up her jawbone, making her shiver with pleasure. He brushed her temple and earlobe, his breath hot across her skin.  
,,Why are you here?” she murmured, sliding her fingers through his silky hair when his ministrations wandered further downward.  
,,Let´s say, the current mood in the Slitherin common room is rather...morose.” he murmured against her neck and began nibbling at her sensitive skin. ,,Blaise is stewing.”  
,,Well, Zabini couldn´t skin you alive as threatened.” she breathed. ,,You caught the snitch.”  
,,Yes, that indeed is partially the reason for his current state.” he began unbuttoning her blouse.  
,,But why the library?” She needed to know. If she was right. If the mistletoe really was setting up these run-ins. ,,Oh!”  
He had found a sweet spot on base of her neck and began lavishing it with this lips and teeth and tongue. ,,I don´t know. Maybe I knew I´d find you here?” The trail of openmouthed kisses wandered even lower. A moan escaped her lips.  
,,Why would you be looking for me?”  
He raised his head from just over the rim of her bra. ,,Really Granger, even if you are the brightest witch of your age, sometimes I see why you wern´t sorted into Ravenclaw.”  
,,Well excuse me...” she didn´t continue, just pull him in to heatedly kiss him.  
She unbuttoned his collar to kiss his neck, tracing a scar that slashed across his collarbone with her lips. He hissed, a sharp intake of air.  
She stopped immediately.  
,,Did I hurt you?”  
,,No, the scars don´t hurt. Anymore. But they still are rather sensitive.”  
,,Oh.” She traced the scar with her finger, watching his blissed out face, his eyes nearly rolling back into his head. She followed it further, unbuttoning his shirt all the way, gasping at the sheer amount of fine lines crisscrossing over is chest and torso.  
,,How...?” she tentatively reached out, stroking the raised skin, watching him shiver in delight.  
,,These are actually Potters.”  
,,What? Harry´s? When he used that foul spell he had no control over in sixth year?”  
,,Yeah.”  
,,You nearly died!”  
,,That too.”  
He leaned in to continue nipping her neck and collarbone, doubtlessly leaving marks, gasping at her skin as she went on tracing his scars with her eyes closed, her head thrown back to give him better access. He worked his way up her neck again, catching her lips in a searing kiss.  
,,We´ve seriously got to consider eating schedules, if this were to happen in the great hall...” she gasped, coming up for air.  
,,Imagine the scandal.” he murmured back, but was obviously distracted. He looked into her eyes for confirmation as he reached around her, his hand on the clasp of her bra.  
She didn´t stop him, just stared back. Not breaking eye contact he undid the clasp and lowered his mouth onto her breast, his tongue tracing circles on her skin, his fingers began stroking and gently massaging the other. He nipped at her nipple. She mewled like a kitten. Some part of her brain provided the information she was making very embarrassing and wanton sounds, but she honestly didn´t care. Her gasps and sighs, and his encouraging and pleased little murmurs filled the silence of the library, until...  
,,Mreeeow.” came a hiss out of the darkness. They both froze, his mouth still hot on her breast.  
,,Fuck!” Malfoy hissed as a certain cat came prowling towards them. ,,That´s Filches fleabag!”  
Mrs. Norris immediately turned with a sour expression, hissing once again before disappearing back into the darkness.  
Fingers flying, Hermione reached behind and fastened her bras clasp again. ,,She´s gone to get Filch.” she hissed in panic. ,,Get dressed. Now!”  
They both began buttoning their shirts, fumbling, muttering curses at the buttons, listening for any sign the janitor was approaching.  
,,Where, dearest, where are students out of bed...?” they heard a low raspy whisper, very close, too close.  
Draco grabbed her arm, yanking her beneath their table, putting up several illusion charms.  
She tried to control her breathing, but Dracos kisses and caresses just now and their current proximity weren´t really helpful.  
Filch, being a squib, and a not very intelligent one would probably never find them, but with the help of Mr. Norris (who, Hermione suspected, was part kneazel, thus more intelligent than a normal cat) and her ability to smell and hear them, he would probably discover their hiding place within the next five minutes. Draco seemed be drawing a similar conclusion. Hermione slumped in defeat.  
,,McGonagall is going to claim my badge and my head.” she wailed under her breath. ,,Not necessarily in that order.”  
,,You´re going to have to run for it.” he murmured.  
She turned so quickly she nearly head-butted him ,,What?”  
,,Go. I´ll keep him off your trail.”  
,,But what about you?”  
,,Honestly, is now the time for being a noble Griffendor? I told you to go, now do so!” he growled.  
,,Draco...”  
,,Honestly, the worst that can happen to me is I get detention. I don´t have any office to lose. Griffendor won the game, the headmistress will be in a good mood and most likely lenient. This isn´t life or death.”  
Strange. How their lives had changed. A year ago sitting under a table, controlling their breathing, hoping not to be found would indeed have mean life or death. On the other hand, the two of them, teen soldiers from opposing sides, sitting together under a table would have been strange enough. Hermione understood. This wasn´t life or death anymore. She could afford leaving someone behind.  
,,Fine. Whatever.”  
,,Wait for it.”  
Filch disappeared down another row of shelves. The way to the library door was clear.  
,,Just run, okay. Get to your room safely. Never mind me.” he whispered in her ear making her shiver. ,,Now!”  
She sprang out from underneath the table, racing towards the door.  
Hermione stumbled and nearly fell when Mrs. Norris streaked between her legs, but he had jumped out after her, and caught her arm, pulling her upward. They heard Filch give a triumphant cry and come thumping their way.  
,,Go.”  
She obeyed him and ran, ignoring the muffled shouts of Filch in the background, not looking back once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is going to turn out smuttier than I thought. Bear with me.


	8. Sending a Howler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter eight is complete! Also, this is going to turn M but not E.

It was Saturday morning. Hermione had woken rather late for her standards and groggily meandered to the washrooms. She brushed her hair, changed out of her pajamas and stared in shock as she caught her reflection the the mirror. Four purple love bites adorned her neck and collarbone. She prodded one. It throbbed slightly in response.  
,,Bloody ferret!” she growled.  
She quickly covered them up with a charm when she heard Ginny coming nearer. The washroom door opened, and her red-haired friend came in.  
,,I´d say good morning, if I wasn´t feeling like I have been run over by the night bus.”  
,,How about better morning.”  
,,Better.”  
They both chuckled at their horrible pun.  
,,Are you going to Hogsmead today?” Ginny asked. ,,Because I´m not sure if I should go. I know it´s the last opportunity before Christmas, but technically I have enough presents and...”  
Hermione shook her head. ,,Sorry, I´m not going. I already have presents for everyone and I don´t want to go out in the cold if not absolutely necessary.”  
Ginny nodded. ,,You´re right. Probably better anyhow. I don´t want to catch a cold just before Christmas either. And Merlin knows I´m still sore from yesterday.” she stretched her entire body. ,,I´m never drinking that horrible Christmas punch of Seamus again, I don´t care if its an old family recipe.” she gagged at her reflection.  
,,Same.”  
,,Where were you last night? You left the party early, but you weren´t in bed.”  
,,Yeah. I went to the library and tried to find out more about that bloody mistletoe!” Hermione casually said, hiding her face behind her hair.  
,,Oh...and? Anything useful?”  
Hermione though about that for a moment. She had discovered the true taste of him, not the taste of toothpaste, or pumpkin juice or fire whiskey, but him, hidden deep inside his mouth. And a sweet spot just over his collarbone. And how sensitive his scars are.  
,,Not really.”  
Ginny shook her head ,,You, Hermione Granger, are the only one I know who would go drunk to the library and start a research mission in the middle of the night.” she sighed at her reflection.  
,,Come on lets get down to breakfast. I´m going to be sick if I don´t eat something soon.”

Breakfast was a disaster. She was still nauseous from the alcohol and bare even ate a piece of toast, whilst Ginnys hangover cure was eating triple helpings. Then he had swaggered through the door, his eyes immediately finding hers, piecing the glamour she had put on the love bites. He had smiled at her, not smirked or sneered, no a small smile, a proud little smile, the cocky bastard. Proud he got away without being caught. Proud of his handy work. Mouth work, tongue work, teeth work, whatever. Don´t think about it!  
McGonagall had held a lecture, about breaking curfew and the grave offense of locking janitors in libraries, her sharp eyes wandering over a sea of students with quite an amount of shadenfreude for the incident, trying to find the culprit. Her eyes simply slid over the head girl. Malfoy merely looked bored at the fact that an unknown student had locked Filch in, who had only been rescued about an hour ago.  
After the headmistress had finally finished, Hermione had quickly excused herself from the table and returned to her room.  
She tried to read a book, but all she was doing was staring blankly at one page, the letters swimming before her eyes, as her mind wandered to the topic she was trying to keep it off of.  
Hermione began an assessment of the entire situation:

1\. There was a mistletoe charm running amok in Hogwarts.

2\. No one knew where it came from, who had made it or how exactly it worked.

3\. It always appeared at random (at least she hadn´t found any pattern).

4\. It always encaged two people (there hadn´t been any exceptions)

5\. And it forced them to kiss (if they ever wanted to move from the spot again)

6\. It knew of emotional connection (see Neville and Luna for example)

7\. It knew of sexual preferences (There had been the incident on Thursday where a Slitherin fifth, Alexei Dubrovnik, and Griffendor forth, Alan Taylor, had been caught in the middle of the great hall. Alan had been less livid about being outed by a piece of shrubbery, but more that he was supposed to kiss a Slitherin. He had outright refused, forcing the two to remain exactly where they bumped into each other. Alexei hadn´t said a word through the whole thing, just blushing furiously.  
Blaise had finally told Alan to follow the example of the beloved and revered head girl, who had shown her house courage and kissed a Slitherin not once but twice, and that both of them should just man up. Hermione who had been in earshot, had threatened him with detention.  
After seventeen hours and forty three minutes Alan finally caved in and had aggressively snogged Alexei, then stalked away, muttering angrily under his breath, blushing twice as bad as the other boy before.)

8\. It also was able to trap ghosts (the Bloody Baron and the Grey Lady hadn´t been too bad, as they were former lovers even if he had killed her, but Peeves and Moaning Myrtle had lead to a flash flood in the second floor and quite a lot of work for her.)

9\. And it never entrapped the same two people more than three times. (Julia Wells and Ernie McMillian had finally confessed their feelings and started dating after three mistletoe induced kisses and the entire eight year sending out a petition, telling them they were idiots and everyone knew they were crushing on each other since second grade.)

10.Except her and Draco bloody Malfoy.

They were the only exception. Three time´s the charm. But they were trapped five times, and she had four hickeys to prove they had snogged the living daylights out of each other. And would have done far more if they hadn´t been interrupted. She would have let him. She wanted it. She wanted him. Badly. And he wanted her just as much. It was a catastrophe in the making!  
A sudden crack made her snap out of her thoughts.  
,,Mistress Granger!” a small voice squeaked next to her bed. Hermione looked up from the page of her book she wasn´t reading anyway, to see a small house elf.  
,,Binky, I´ve told you, just call me Hermione please. Or Miss Granger, if you insist. But refrain from calling me mistress.”  
The little elf excused profusely for the slip, wringing it´s bony hands in distress.  
,,Never mind, Binky.” Hermione sighed ,,What is it?”  
,,Binky is terribly sorry, Mistress Granger. But Binky could not catch the mistletoe. Binky tried, tried very hard, but Binky couldn´t catch if for Mistress.” she wailed.  
,,It´s alright, Binky. I know you tried you hardest. So don´t worry, I´ll just have to find another way to catch that contraption.”  
,,Binky is very sorry, Binky couldn´t catch it. But Binky found a box, found a box while cleaning. Maybe it will help Mistress.”  
She held out a little red and green cardboard box, no bigger than Hermiones hand.  
,,Thank you for helping me, Binky. I am very grateful.”  
,,Anything for mistress Granger.” She bowed and disappeared with a pop.

Hermione flipped the box over and read the sparkling lettering.  
WEASLEYS WIZARD WHEEZES WANDERING MISTLETOE TRAP  
Get caught by the holiday spirit!

,,GINNY!!!”  
,,Yeah?”  
,,GET YOU COAT AND GLOVES! WE´RE GOING TO HOGSMEAD!”  
,,Are we? But you said...?”  
,,WE ARE GOING!”  
,,Okay then, give me a minute! And what...?”  
,,Believe me, you´ll want to come along. “ she threw the empty box in Ginnys hands as she came through the door, she caught it with the reflexes of a Quidditch player.  
,,I need to visit the post-office. To send a howler.”  
Ginny stared at the box, lips parting in shock, as she mouthed the words silently; then she grinned like a cheshire cat. ,,You´re right. I very much want come along for this. Let me get my scarf.”

The two girls tramped through the snow towards the village, muttering warming spells, Hermione dictating her tongue lashing to a quick quotes quill. Ginny provided the twins full names and helpful alliterations. They arrived in Hogesmead fifteen minutes later, and immediately headed to the post office. Warm air and musky bird smell greeted them.  
Hermione went up to the desk, while Ginny looked at the rare international post owls.  
Excuse me, I´d like to send a howler.” she began.  
,,Right-o, one howler for the young miss.” the elderly clerk replied and slid a white sheet of paper over the counter. ,,That´all be four sickles.”  
,,Er...is this really howler paper? It´s not red.”  
He quirked an eyebrow at her ,,First time sending a howler?”  
,,Yes.” she admitted.  
,,Well, it works like this, ye see...” the clerk began ,,...ye have the sheet of paper here and ye go and sit in one of the howler booths, they´re charmed soundproof mind ye, no one can hear anything ye shout.” he pointed to three booths in a corner, they looked like muggle telephone booths.  
,,Ye tap the paper once with yer wand and begin shouting whatever ye want to. When ye´re done, tap it again. The paper will turn red and fold itself up and ye can sent it off with an owl. Y`understand?”  
She nodded, paid the outrageous price of four sickles for the envelope and dragged Ginny over to the howler booths. They squeezed themselves inside and laid out the paper on the small foldout table. Hermione took out her wand an tapped the parchment.  
She took a deep breath.

,,FREDERICK GIDEON AND GEORGE FABIAN WEASLEY!

 

,,Well, that was a pleasant outing.” Ginny said, as they arrived back at the castle, making their way to the owlery. ,,I have wanted to do that in ages. Imagine their reactions! I always envied Mum for having six sons to send howlers to. Although, I don´t think Percy ever received one...but then perhaps in that nasty _I-renounce-the-family-and-it´s-name_ business he probably did. I´m pretty sure he did. But Mum never sent them as often as she threatened to do so.”  
,,I understand why. Four sickles a howler is just plain ridiculous. Thank goodness I have Ermingard, otherwise I would have to pay another sickle for the transport.” Hermione grabbed Ginny´s arm when she suddenly slipped and lost her balance.  
,,Thanks.  
,,No problem. But Hermione, see it as an investment. Fred and George owe you big now. Easy for future blackmail. You might even get permanent percents off their merchandise from now on if you you play this right.”  
,,I guess so.” she sighed ,,Your brothers are just too smart for their own good.”  
,,Mum used to joke they were one person with double the brains. One being the left half, one the right.”  
,,Why couldn´t they have put their brains to something less...”  
,,Annoying? Well, you were the one to tell them just now you admired their work. Big mistake, by the way.”  
Hermione shook her head ,,They are very creative wizards, there is no denying the fact. I just don´t appreciate their way of applying their talents. At least not...”  
,,...if it involves involuntarily and repeatedly snogging Draco Malfoy.?”  
,,Exactly.”  
Ginny suddenly stopped mid-stride, eyes wide in shock, the she whirled on Hermione.  
,,Wait a minute...in the howler...you said five times! Don´t tell me...”  
Hermione groaned in defeat.  
Ginny´s eyes narrowed into slits ,,Spill. NOW!”  
Hermione sighed. ,,There may or may not have been other incidents I may or may not have forgotten to tell you about.”  
,,Incidents? Plural?!?”  
They had arrived at the foot of the stairs that led up to the owlery tower. Hermione tried to escape the inevitable cross examination ,,You can go ahead to the common room. The owlery is rather cold.”  
Ginny didn´t take the bait. ,,Hermione Granger!”  
,,Yes?” she sighed.  
,,You still have to fill me in on two kisses I apparently missed.”  
,,Fine. Later. I promise. You go warm up before you catch pneumonia. You don´t want to be getting sick just before Christmas. Not when you going to see Harry.”  
,,Nice try. Fine I´ll stay here, you go post that letter.”  
,,I love you dearly Ginny, but you can be a nuisance sometimes.”  
The red-head only grinned at her, watching her climb the stone spiral staircase.

 

Hermione climbed the final steps, her breath puffing out in little clouds in front of her. Someone must have done a very thorough cleaning of the owlery in honor of Christmas, the stone gleamed freshly scrubbed and instead of the usual rather harsh stench of more than a hundred bird a fresh, albeit ice-cold breeze wafted around her.  
She laid her head into the back of her neck, letting her eyes wander over the sleeping owls in the upper galley. Ermingard, her barn owl had the tendency to always choose the highest perch available.  
,,Ermingard!” she softly called. ,,Ermingard!”  
Several owls opened one eyes and looked at her reproachfully for disturbing their sleep. One brown however, ruffled her feathers and batted her wings, before diving straight down at her mistress with a high pitched screech, making Hermione jump back and shriek herself. The owl landed on her head, digging it´s claws into her (self-knitted) hat and began messing up her curls with its beak.  
,,Pfff.” she heard someone giggle.  
Hermione spun around so fast Ermingard lost her balance on top of her head and flapped around in her face, screeching loudly, ripping the hat off.  
,,Ermingard!” she scolded, then froze as Draco Malfoy stepped out of the shadows.  
,,You?! What are you doing here?!”  
,,Hmm, what could a student be doing in the owlery.” he pretended to deeply ponder this question for a moment before breaking into his usual smirk. ,,Perhaps send a letter? What are you doing here Granger?” he mimicked her.  
Hermione rolled her eyes ,,Sending a letter.” she quickly grabbed her hat and stuffed it her coat pocket, then held her arm out and sternly called Ermingard, who ruefully settled on her offered perch.  
,,Take this to the Burrow. You may stay there and return with me.” she told the owl, who jerked back at the sight of the red envelope. However her mistress shoved the letter into her beak and unceremoniously dumped her out of the next window into the icy winds.  
She turned back to the Slitherin boy behind her.  
Malfoy stared at her, almost...somewhat concerned. ,,Was that a howler?”  
,,Jup.” she said in a clipped voice.  
He stared at her some more, the broke out into a wide grin. ,,May Merlin have mercy.”  
On this poor girl. His real and true smile was enough to send her heart off thundering like a freight train. It should be legally forbidden, like an unforgivable.  
,,Amen.”  
,,What?”  
,,It´s a muggle thing. You end prayers with it. It actually means _so be it_.”  
He shook his head. ,,Amen is an old form of magic spell. It is a way of manipulation your surroundings, by actually willing them to be as you wish.”  
,,Is it a form of wandless magic then?”  
,,Yes. Speaking of which. You still have something of mine.”  
She cocked her head in question like an owl.  
,,My wand. Remember? You disarmed me and...well, never got to giving it back to me.” he smirked, undoubtedly remembering, _why exactly_ she had been too occupied to giving it back.  
,,Oh, right.” She stared at him in complete dumbfounded shock as the realization sunk in. He had given his wand to her, albeit not entirely out of free will, however he had not immediately tracked her down to retrieve it. He a wizard, a veteran of a wizarding war had trusted her with _his wand_ , his most valuable possession. The more she though about it the more monstrous it was. He had put herself completely at her mercy. And then patiently and calmly waited for her to return it.

Love is giving a person the ability to hurt you beyond measure and trusting them to not do so.  
Who had said that to her, a long long time ago? Her grandmother? A cheap gift card? Someone.  
But what was she thinking? Malfoy couldn´t be in love with her.  
,,Oi Granger, did your precious brain freeze in there?” he asked, prowling towards her. She snapped out of her reverie. ,,Hard to imagine with all that hair around it.” He reached out, wrapping one of her curls around his finger. Her heart began pounding faster, almost painfully.  
,,Ha ha. Honestly is my hair the only thing you can make fun of?”  
,,Obviously.” He cupped her chin, tilting it upwards. ,,The rest is utter perfection.”  
,,What?”  
,,My wand, Granger.”

Pop.

,,Enter that frightful and thrice be dammed shrubbery.” Malfoy sounded rather cheerful.  
,,Actually, I now know who...” she never finished her sentence, because his lips came crashing down on her, effectively cutting off all possible exchange of information on the subject.  
O fuck this.  
She hungrily responded to his kiss, pulling him closer and let herself be backed into a (thankfully scrubbed) wall. Fire raced through her body, her tongue stole out to lick his bottom lip.  
He buried one hand in her curls, tilting her head to properly devour her, nipping and gently biting.  
,,Hermione?” Came a voice echoing up the stone spiral staircase.  
Ginny. Bloody hell! She had forgotten all about her.  
Malfoy froze for a second, then his lips resumed their way down her jaw bone. His free hand tugged her shawl off. Cool air hit her skin sending goosebumps up and down her body.  
,,Oi, are you coming down anytime before Christmas?”  
,,Yes!” she shouted back, trying not to sound to out of breath. ,,Give me a moment...oh!”  
He had found that sweet spot on her neck again. She felt his grin agains her skin, before he put his lips and teeth back to use again, creating more purple love bites that would mottle her neck.  
His fingers brushed over the buttons of her coat, then began unfastening them, one by one. His hands slipped inside and under her jumper and shirt, running over her waist and stomach, traveled higher, teased her breasts. Her breathing became heavier, her low gasps coming out like little clouds.  
Suddenly her eyes, that had nearly rolled back into her head, snapped open.  
His right hand, that had wandered lower without her really noticing, slid out from her jumper, opened the top button and slipped into her panties, finding her clit immediately.  
She couldn´t suppress a high mewl.  
,,Are you alright up there?” Ginny called.  
She turned in alarm to Malfoy, but he simply placed a finger on his mouth.  
He watched her intently as he began to gently caress her down there.  
Oh.Oh.OH!  
Hermione felt like she was melting.  
Ginny was still waiting for an answer.  
,,I´m fine!”  
Malfoy grinned at her attempts to stay quiet, doing his best to swallow her moans with his kisses.  
,,More Draco.” she murmured and moaned against his lips. ,,More.”  
He obliged, murmuring encouragements into her ear, placing kisses all over her face, watching her wither under is caresses, reacting to her bodies responses to his touch.  
,,It´s just that...” she began, but had to bite her hand to not moan aloud as his finger pushed harder.  
Her breath was more an more labored as he pushed her closer and closer to the edge.  
,,It´s just that...Ermingard...is being..a bit...difficult.” She gasped, arching in toward his touch, feeling the heat in her lower belly coil tighter and tighter.  
Her fingers tightly clenched the fabric of his sleeves, his shoulder muffling her little shriek when she finally came. Waves and tingles of bliss washed over her.  
Breathing heavily, propped up by the wall and Malfoy, she slowly returned to her body.  
,,Do you need help?” Ginnys voice brought her back to earth.  
,,NO!” she immediately shouted. ,,Thank you. I´m good.” she added quickly.  
It was a miracle her voice was still responding.  
She took one more deep breath, the raised her head.  
She smiled at Malfoy. ,,Thank you.” she murmured in a low voice. ,,I´m better that good.”  
,,I do hope so.” he smirked down at her, a gently teasing smirk.  
,,I´d better get going.”  
Malfoy took a step back, eying her from head to toe ,,You´d better get yourself fixed up before you go. I sort of made a mess of you. Sorry”  
Hermione looked down at herself, realizing her was right. Every article of clothing way askew, she had love bites and oh gods, her hair. She buttoned up her jeans and smoothed out her shirt, closed her coat and retrieved her shawl from the floor. She was about to turn when she realized she had forgotten something. Something important. Her hand went to her pocket and she withdrew a slim piece of dark wood, holding it out for him: ,,Your wand.”  
His eyes flashed and his hand shot out, grasping it possessively. She could see the comforting flow of familiar magic wash through him. He gave a happy sigh, then pointed it to her neck.  
Hermione scrunched her neck and saw the love bite on her collar bone fade under a shimmer of glamour. She looked at him, something about this cheerful, careless grin he had never shown in all those years before made her chest feel warm and content, like a curled up kitten.  
,,Thank you.” They both whispered.  
,,Hermione Jean Granger, either you´re coming down or I´m coming up!” Ginny´s demand made them jump apart. Hermione quickly wrapped her shawl around herself, shoved her cap back on her completely entangled hair and ran to and down the stairs, her boots thumping with every step.  
A rather exasperated Ginny was waiting at the bottom.  
,,There you are, oh what happened to you? Your hair, it´s all mussed up.” Ginny´s eyes widened at her state. She reached out and pulled out a feather from her curls.  
,,Ermingard. “ Hermione said, catching her breath ,,She decided to...rearrange it a bit. Bloody owls and their nesting instincts. Be glad your didn´t join me.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, confession time. I actually didn´t plan for the owlery kiss, but I noticed that I had written in chapter one that the howler is sent by Ermingard, so I couldn´t just have it sent by the post office in Hogsmead had to change that. Also, seven is a magic number and so seven kisses it is.


	9. Seventh kiss

Hermione usually didn´t take ice cold showers in December, but desperate measures had to be taken. Her brain was still trying to process what exactly had happened in the drafty owlery, without spontaneously combusting or crashing like an overheated computer.  
An overheated computer. That was a very nice picture of what she was, Hermione decided. All her usual logic and clear structure was mixed and muddled and her brain couldn´t take the heat racing through her body. She found herself standing under the arctic spray staring at the tiles, her teeth chattering, and her mind in constant replay mode.  
In a minute of clearness she turned off the water, stepped out of the shower and returned to her room. Desperate not to have her thoughts drift off again, she decided to do something practical to keep her occupied, so she began sorting her books.  
,,Where you going, Hermione?” Ginny asked, slyly winking at her, when she crossed the common room with a large stack of tomes later that evening.  
,,I´m going to bring back the library books I don´t need during the holidays.”  
,,So your´re going to the library, huh?” Her smirk only grew. Ginny had been filled in on everything except the most recent incident.  
,,Yes, the library. You want to come with me?”  
,,Oh, I think I´ll stay. I don´t want to catch a cold just before the hols. Not when I´m seeing Harry.”  
Hermione only rolled her eyes, but when she was out the portrait hole she had to admit maybe returning to the scene was really not the best idea for her current mental state.  
She quickly dropped her books off at Ms. Pinch´s desk, desperately avoiding to look in the direction of the table, a stoic pillar of learning thorough generations, they had deconsecrated last night. It had only been last night? Merlin! These memories overtaking her addled brain, she began wandering back.  
,,Granger.”  
She didn´t even have to turn to know who had called her. She froze on the spot.  
,,Granger?”  
She let out a sigh of resignation, then turned to face him ,,Yes?”  
Draco Malfoy stood in the corridor.  
,,Can you follow me with this much space between us?” He indicated the three meters that were separating them.  
,,What?”  
,,So the mistletoe can´t get us stuck here.” He answered and then just made his way down the opposite corridor at a considerable pace. Completely bewildered she followed him, up several stairs and corridors, careful to keep her distance.  
,,Malfoy...?”  
He didn´t react.  
,,Draco, wait, wait a moment. I need to tell you something!”  
,,You can tell me in a minute!”  
She huffed in annoyance. ,,I know where the mistletoe came from!”  
That made him stop in his tracks. ,,What?”  
She hopped back a meter, just in case. ,,It´s a Weasley wizard wheezes product! Wandering Mistletoe Traps!”  
,,The ginger twins invented this?”  
,,Yes. It´s part of their Holiday collection. Although I suspect it´s part of next years Holiday collection and the let a prototype loose in Hogwarts to test it. ”  
,,Do you know how they work?”  
,,No yet.”  
,,So that was the howler earlier...you sent them a howler.” There was something in his voice Hermione didn´t recognize. It sounded almost strained. ,,You´re upset, so...”  
,,Well of course!” she snapped interrupting him ,,They can´t just let their merchandise run amok in a place of learning!”  
His lips twitched upward. ,,Follow me.”  
She ran after him, keeping the essential distance, when he suddenly came to a sudden stop.  
,,Malfoy, where...?”  
What an entirely unnecessary question. She immediately recognized the tapestry he was pacing in front of. A door appeared, he turned and motioned for her to come to his side, then grabbed her arm and pulled her inside.  
The room of requirement looked like a private common room with a large four poster bed, two plushy armchairs by a fireplace and a thick carpet.  
Her eyes returned irritated to the bed.  
Of course. If the mistletoe always demanded more intimacy with each time they got caught by it, they would need some serious privacy.  
She tensed when he stepped within the traps radius.  
,,Hermione, listen to me. It can´t follow us here.”  
,,What?!”  
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. ,,This is the room of requirement. If we require the mistletoe not to appear, the room will keep it out.”  
,,Oh! Oh, why didn´t I think of this earlier?!” she grumbled and turned to stomp off towards on of the armchairs.   
,,Hermione...” something in his voice made her whirl back around.   
He reached out, his hand wavering for a moment before caressing her cheek. She simply froze. His eyes were the stormiest gray they had ever been, wide and completely unguarded, as if he wanted her to see right through into his soul. He stepped closer. His other hand came to cup her face.  
It was a gentle kiss. Nothing like before. This was tentative, almost shy, as if he expected her to push him away. As if she could.  
Wait! She could! Technically, she could! There was no charm holding her in place! They weren´t forced by anything. She didn´t have to kiss him.  
But...  
She wanted to. She wanted to kiss him.  
Maybe he was tricking her. To show her how pathetic she was to want him so much. Maybe this was the final checkmate of this game they had been playing for a week now.  
There was only one way to find out.  
She leaned into and responded to his kiss. His eyes flew open, he gasped against her lips, like he had been holding his breath. She held his close gaze for a moment, searching for something, she wasn´t quite sure what that something was exactly, but she saw it spark in the depths of his little stormy seas. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she resumed to caress his lips with her own. Her growled and buried his hands in her hair using his tongue to plunder her mouth. She let him, responded with the same fiery vigor. He pulled her flush against him, she pressed closer, rubbing up against him. Their identical moans were swallowed by the others mouth. She gasped, and sprang back, breaking the kiss.  
The stared at each other, eyes slightly glazed, breathing heavy, trying to figure out what had just happened. She brought her slightly shaking fingers up to touch her swollen lips.  
It hadn´t been a trick, but now she stood before an even greater riddle.   
She finally found her voice, only whispering, but not quite speechless ,,But the Mistletoe...”  
,,You still need an excuse?” He ran his fingers through his disheveled hair.  
She stared at him. He pulled her back into his arms.  
,,The time for excuses is over. Come on, face it like a Griffendor.” he smirked down at her.  
,,Wait, what are you saying?”  
,,I am saying I will continue to push you into walls and shelves and cupboards and snogg the living daylights out of you, mistletoe or not. And I will proceed to do so now.”  
She stared at him some more.   
He had brought her here, to the room of requirement, because the mistletoe couldn´t follow them here. He had kissed her without the mistletoe anywhere near. He had brought her here...to show her he would kiss her without being forced by the mistletoe.  
That he wanted to kiss her.  
He wanted her.  
As bad she wanted him.  
The same moment he grabbed her hip and waist, she grabbed his tie, pulling him down on her, sending them tumbling backwards on the bed.  
She yanked his jumper and shirt off him, ran her fingers over his scars, watching him shiver in bliss.  
He unbuttoned her blouse and began leaving a new trail of love bites from neck to nipple, each one accompanied with a little murmur. ,,Beautiful.” ,,So sweet.” ,,Mine.”  
She bit his shoulder in return before going on a reconnaissance mission for the sweet spot on his collarbone, tasting his skin.  
First her bra disappeared, then her jeans. He peppered her entire body with little kisses, setting her skin on fire. ,,More.” she demanded. His kissed wandered lower and lower.  
Their fingers traced each others bodies, every pane, angle and curve. She giggled when they ran over her sides. He swallowed that giggle whole, crashing his mouth back on hers.  
Her hands found his belt buckle, flying to unfasten it. A wand was retrieved from the tangle of clothes on the floor, protection spells were murmured quickly.  
And finally, finally...  
Moans filled the air as they gasped against each others lips. Limbs and sheets tangled, the bedsprings creaked under their shifting bodies. Grips got tighter, kisses more frantic.  
Fire raced through their veins, the fire only building higher and higher and higher until...  
She gasped his name only a moment before she heard hers tumbling from his lips.  
Gasping for air they slumped back into the pillows, limbs entangled, covered in sweat.  
After a few minutes Hermione rolled to her side to watch his face, his eyes closed, his fair hair sticking to his forehead.  
She had never felt to fully content, so whole.  
She reached out to touch his face. ,,Draco?”  
,,Hmmm?” he sleepily grumbled.  
What was this? What are we? she wanted to ask.  
,,What are your plans for the holidays?” she blurted out instead.  
His eyes cracked open and he gave her a lazy grin, one of those real smiles that sent her heart off like a stampede again. ,,Come here.” He opened his arms and she wiggled into his embrace, but didn´t dare look at him. ,,Well, I´m going home to see my mother for Christmas.”  
,,Oh...” she whispered against his chest. ,,That´s nice.”  
,,And after that I will go visit my aunt and cousin who, at that time, will be residing at an establishment called the Burrow.”  
She looked up so see him gently smiling down at her. ,,Oh.”  
,,Exactly, oh.” he buried his face in her hair. ,,And there I shall witness the terror a certain witch can inspire in people who dare disturb a sacred place of learning.”  
,,Actually, Fred and George are coming tomorrow.”  
,,By your orders?”  
,,Not directly.”  
,,Whose then?”  
,,The head girls.”  
,,Merlin have mercy! Something to look forward to.”  
She giggled.  
He smiled and closed his eyes again.  
There was a moment of silence.   
,,Draco?”  
,,Yes love?”  
She held her breath.  
,,What is is Hermione?”  
,,Never mind. Good night.”  
He opened his eyes again and leaned over to gently kiss her.  
,,Good night, love.”

Ginny grinned wider that a cheshire cat when she saw the still empty bed next morning.


	10. Epilogue

,,How are we going to tell her?” George quietly asked as they trudged up the path from Hogsmead.  
,,Tell who what?”  
,,Hermione. About the charm...”  
,,That? Oh dear, I don´t even know if we should tell her...” Fred groaned. ,,Fleur is so gonna kill us.”  
,,No shit. She´ll never give us another donation.”  
,,And she´s only a quarter-veela! Imagine what would have happened if we had actually gotten our hands on a full-veelas sample!”  
,,I would bet you ten galleons that Malfoy has veela blood too, somewhere in that pure blood of his. I mean look at him! Look at his father and mother! All blonde and pale.”  
,,You think that´s the explanation for this?”  
,,No. I think his few veela genes might have had a bit of an enhancing effect, but all in all it doesn´t change anything. The two were the only ones effected that way. I mean FIVE TIMES?!? The charm is three! This is beyond sexual and/or emotional attraction! You know what this means!” George hissed.  
,,Yeah. And of all the people of this world, fate just had to pick those two.” Fred sighed. ,,How did this even happen? Why did this have happen during the first test run?”  
,,I know. I mean, think of the odds...tiny. Miniscule. Not even worth mentioning.”  
,,And of course it had to be none other than Hermione.” Fred went on.  
,,Could have been worse. Could have been Ginny. That would have ruined Christmas.”  
,,Oh thank Merlin. Imagine having to explain that to Harry. He would be beyond crushed.”  
,,Even if it isn´t Ginny, he will still be very pissed when he hears this. Everyone is gonna be pissed. And Ron´s definitely gonna blow.”  
,,We are so dead. I honestly can´t think of anyone who won´t try to kill one of us after this.”  
,,Me.” George answered.  
,,Well, I wan´t to kill you! Honestly why did I even listen to you when you suggested putting a veelas compulsion pheromones on mistletoe? Why?” Fred groaned in despair as they approached the gates of the grounds.  
,,Hey, they work just fine on everyone else! How come it´s my fault the magic works a little too well for those two!?”  
,,Well, you can try explaining that to them, after you tell them they´re technically soulmates.”

Waiting for them in the entry hall was the head girl wrapped in the arms of her lover, both snickering in wicked anticipation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It had finally been done! Also I am proud to tell you this work is currently being translated into spanish!  
> (Not by me tho.)  
> Thank you for all bearing with me. It began as a small one shot with the first chapter and I blew it up into this huge fic.  
> Comment to your hearts desire!
> 
> X Beth


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